Material Testing of Stainless Steel Welds

Grain boundary carbides in duplex (Type 2205) stainless steel

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Abstract

Developing a welding procedure specification (WPS) typically involves welding a sample coupon that will be destructively tested to prove the parameters of the WPS. Different welding and construction codes may have slight differences in requirements and allowable parameter ranges, but the variety of codes are generally similar. The standard tests used universally for any material are bend and tensile tests, which prove the strength and ductility of the weld, as well as the presence of some weld defects, or hopefully, the lack thereof. These two tests can tell a lot about a weld, but generally do not provide much information about the corrosion resistance. Note that when referring to a weld, the heat affected zone (HAZ) adjacent to the weld metal is also included and is often the region of concern.